Secretary
of State for Transport Patrick Mcloughlin has today announced his
decision not to giving approval for the planned NGT trolleybus system in
Leeds to go ahead due to the findings of the Public Inquiry, which took
place in 2014.

Reminder

Responding to the announcement, West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee Chair Cllr Keith Wakefield said,“Today’s
news is a frustrating reminder that despite the government’s emphasis
on devolution, we still find ourselves subject to decisions made
remotely in Whitehall on local matters.

"Developing
NGT in line with government advice and complying with the Department
for Transport's lengthy approval process since 2007 has cost approaching
£27m. However, land acquired for the scheme has a value of around £10m
and we will now review which sites can be released so that the proceeds
can be invested in transport improvements and initiatives to support
economic growth."

Good value

“The
government has admitted in the decision letter published today that NGT
represented good value for money. The letter states the Department for
Transport confirmed Programme Entry in July 2012 and the ‘decision to
allocate funding for the scheme was based specifically on an assessment
of the value for money, affordability and deliverability of the scheme'.

“The
announcement that the £173.5m committed for NGT has been ring-fenced
for public transport investment in Leeds does mean we can build upon our
key achievements, such as the new Apperley Bridge rail station and
Leeds Station Southern Entrance, which are already in place, and the new
Kirkstall Forge and Low Moor stations, due to open soon.

“We
are already demonstrating this through our 10-year, £1bn Transport Fund
programme of strategic transport schemes designed to accelerate growth
and create up to 20,000 jobs, funded through our City Region Growth
Deal.

“And
we are committed to developing a fully integrated metro-style transport
system for the City Region with tram train at its heart and will now
work with government to make that a reality.”

Alternatives

Combined Authority Chair Cllr Peter Box said, “This is bad news for Leeds, West Yorkshire and the Leeds City Region.

“After
being supported by successive governments to pursue the country’s first
trolleybus-based scheme, only for that support to be withdrawn at this
late hour, we now need to see the Government working with us. We need to
see ministers committing further funding to develop key alternatives
and help us make up for the lost time and resources and we need
devolution so these decisions can be taken locally.

“We need to
be able to press ahead with the development of a metro-style system with
integrated rail, tram train and light rail, bus, cycling and walking
networks designed to meet local people’s needs and underpin the economic
growth and job creation across the City Region.”

“We
have the ambition and the ability to achieve this but unless we get the
government’s backing, today will be remembered as a bad day for Leeds,
West Yorkshire and the Leeds City Region and also for the idea of a
Northern Powerhouse.”

Safeguarded

Chair of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Roger Marsh OBE said,
“While it is extremely disappointing the government have taken so long
to reach a decision on this scheme, crucially the £173.5m Local Growth
Funding earmarked in the Leeds City Region Growth Deal for this project
has been safeguarded to invest in transport projects that will help
connect people to places and jobs across our wider City Region.

“Improving
transport and connectivity links is at the core of our Strategic
Economic Plan to create good growth and job opportunities for the people
who live and work here, and of our bid for transformational devolution
to the City Region. While we’ve already secured other significant money
through our Growth Deal to make investments in transport over next 20
years, there is still some way to go to address the legacy of years of
underinvestment in our transport network.

“Leeds and the wider
City Region needs and deserves a 21st Century transport network,
otherwise the whole Northern Powerhouse risks missing out on billions of
pounds of economic growth and thousands of good jobs for now and
generations to come.”

Relief

Cllr Judith Blake,
leader of Leeds City Council, said, “It’s a relief to everyone
concerned that a decision has finally been made, although the length of
time taken to get there has been very frustrating.

“Leeds has
been let down by successive Governments in Whitehall on transport, first
Supertram and now with NGT. Each occasion setting public transport in
the city back many years.

“I’m pleased Leeds will still be
allocated the funding and look forward to working with our partners to
bring forward the public transport improvements Leeds so desperately
needs as quickly as possible.”

Unacceptable

Cllr Richard Lewis, executive
member for regeneration, transport and planning, said, “NGT would have
brought significant economic benefit to Leeds as well as tackling the
congestion and unacceptable travel times on one of the main routes into
the city.

“We now need to work out -alongside Central Government-
how to use the £173.5 million earmarked for Leeds to provide better
transport, help people move around the city and improve air quality in
Leeds.”